In more detail
AI answers handle sources in a few different ways:
- Linked citations. A numbered link, card or footnote pointing to the page the information came from. Google's AI features, Perplexity and ChatGPT search all show links like this.
- Brand mentions without a link. The answer names your business ("agencies such as…") but doesn't link to you. This can still drive searches for your name.
- Uncited answers. Answers produced from the model's training data with no sources. You can't see where the information came from, and it may be out of date.
Citations depend on retrieval: the system has to find and choose your page while building the answer. Pages that answer a question directly, are clearly structured, show who wrote them and are backed by a solid reputation tend to be easier to cite. Being mentioned on other credible sites (reviews, directories, news, industry lists) also matters, because AI tools often draw on what others say about you, not just your own site.
Measuring citations is still rough. AI answers vary between users, sessions and locations, there's no equivalent of Search Console for most assistants, and Google folds AI feature traffic into its normal Search Console data. Visits from links in ChatGPT, Perplexity and similar tools often show up as referrals in analytics.
Why it matters when hiring an agency
Some agencies now report "AI share of voice": how often your brand is cited across a set of prompts compared with competitors. That can be useful, but only if you see the prompt list, the tools and dates tested, and how many times each prompt was run. Ask for that method in writing. Anyone promising guaranteed citations is promising something no one controls.